1. Field of the Invention
Incineration of waste materials.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Waste quantities of materials that contain one or more of the elements listed below are difficult to dispose of because combustion causes those elements to be released as noxious, corrosive, and/or toxic gases. The halogens are released either as elemental gases, or as acidic gases such as HF, gaseous HCl, etc. The remaining elements are generally released either as acidic oxide gases, or as other gases that are either noxious, corrosive, or toxic.
______________________________________ Elemental Precursor As Contained, for Example, in ______________________________________ Fluorine Fluorinated plastics, chemical warfare agents, rocket propellants, refrigerants. Chlorine Chlorinated plastics, such as PVC, pes- ticides, chemical warfare agents, rocket propellants, solvents, chemical wastes. Bromine Chemical wastes. Iodine Chemical wastes. Nitrogen Chemical wastes, plastics, rocket pro- pellants. Sulfur Coal, industrial chemical wastes, fuel oils, chemical warfare agents. Phosphorus Fertilizers, elemental phosphorus in- dustries, pesticides. Selenium Associated with sulfur in many ores, electronics industries. Tellurium Associated with sulfur in many ores, electronics industries. Arsenic Insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, chemical warfare agents. ______________________________________
The prior art teaches disposal of materials containing these elements in incineration systems that use wet scrubbers for treatment of the combustion gases. But, appropriate scrubbers are expensive, complicated, and require extensive cooling and temperature control apparatus. The wastes from such scrubbing operations also often present complex disposal problems.